Martinsburg daily gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1887-1887, 1887-07-29


n Considering the amount Of work done
10y railroad clerks tthe constant attention,
long hours and responsibility, they are
without doubt the worst paid and most
dependent of employees Railroad clerks
wages range from $50 q month upward.
A man who has $50 or $40 month Il
considered in good circumstances. They
are, as rule, sober, steady, industrious
lot, the majority, perhaps, being married
men, and with such meager wages bring
ing up families respectfully.
Receiving clerks get from $50 to 500 3
month, and are supposed to have the
easiest places among the clerks. Then
day begins at a. M. and ends as sool
after DIS they can finish receiving. They
must have q thorough knowledge Of the
road and its connections and all the terri
tory covered by it, and extreme accuracy
is -required of them, as they are held re
sponsible for any errors or shortages which
may arise. 1t sometimes happens that
they have to try conclusions, and give Of
take q licking from q truck driver who
considers himself aggrieved, or who has
tried the clerks patience beyond endur
ance limits. The receiving clerk signs thu
receipt, which Is given back to the driver
and the duplicate thereof, which he re
tains, thus identifying himself with thu
receipt of the goods and shouldering thu
responsibilities for the quantity condition
and correctness of the shipment The
+ duplicate is passed with the goods to tht
checker, whose duty it Is TO compare thu
marking of the goods with the written In
structions of the duplicate, note thereon
the weight, the number of the car in which
the goods are loaded, and sign it, thus al
it were indorsing the receiving clerk as t6
quantity and correctness of address. The
checker must be very. quick of eye and
rapid to select the duplicate required from
among perhaps 100 held between his
fingers. The checkers day begins at a.
m. and ends when the last of the goods tx
be shipped are put into the car. This not
infrequently is far into the night. Dur
ing busy season fourteen and fifteeI
hours q day is not at all unusual, and fol-
this overtime, as it is called, no allowance
is made, and the checker, having worke:
until perhaps midnight or later, is ca
pected to be at his work on time in TIL
morning. Freight checkers get about Sol
a month.
The duplicate, with the weight Of the
goods, the. number Of the car in which
they have been slowed, and the signatures
of receiving and checking clerks on it, il
now passed on to the lIf1ling department.
where the shipment is manifested to its
destination. A car Of freight, before leav.
ing the station at which it is loaded, i
sealed with the seal of chat station, and
that seal must be found intact when thu
car reaches its destination. As it is passed
on from one conductor to another he il
supposed to examine each car, and IL any
-
car was received, and call the attention Of
the agent or conductor from whom he re.
ceiyed it to its condition.
There is another system known as the
blind lcheck, the duplicate orswritten de.
scription Of the goods and directions as tc
route, etc, being furnished by the shipper
passing from thes hands of the receiving
clerk and inspector to the billing office
and never being seen by the checker The
Inter is furnished with book, and as the
goods are brought before him for stowage
in the cars note is taken of the address
and weight of the package, and an estimate
made as to contents. This book is sent tc
the billing Office, the duplicate and it are
compared, and from the two manifest /:
made.
Promotion is exceedingly slow among
railroad clerks. A smart checker or re.
ceiving clerk is generally wanted in thai
situation by his principal, and viii be
kept in it indefinitely. He brings credit
to his principal as being the possessor and
selector of good, efficient staff. Some
times it happens that a mans merit il
recognized, but is more frequently so by
the agents Of another road than by those
Of tho one for which he is working. He
gets liberal increase in salary, and
should his new post warrant it, he, as y
rule, entices the desirable men among his
old associates. to follow him, leaving his
old chiefs embarrassed by their loss and
in breaking in and teaching of new men.